And Chelsea boss Mourinho believes this gives Manuel Pellegrini’s men an edge because they will know how their rivals have fared before paying their games in hand.

“What affects the Premier League is the change of the fixtures,” he said.

“City play later after the other teams fighting for the title play, so it is easier.

“They know somebody lost, somebody won, they lost two points, one point is enough for us. That is obviously an advantage.

“But it’s not their fault. It’s the weather, the fixtures, the FA, the Premier League, so it’s not their fault.”

Asked if Chelsea could turn that situation to their advantage by winning their games to pile pressure on City to do the same, Mourinho replied: “Leave us in peace. It’s not for us. We have to try to win the next game and it’s not our fight.”

Chelsea badly missed skipper John Terry in their FA Cup defeat at the Etihad, and Mourinho hinted at frustration with his medical team over the former England skipper not being back in action by now.

“The medical department always tell me he looks like he is ready,” said Mourinho. “I was told he would probably play this game. He didn’t, so now do they say for sure he plays the next game? I don’t know.”

The Blues boss claimed it was too big an ask for his players to follow up their league win at City a fortnight ago with victory in the FA Cup. “It’s always difficult to play two matches in a row against the same team,” he said.

“It’s very difficult for a team to win consecutively the two matches. You come in at the top of your game, the top of your concentration, the top of your intensity and you win the game.

“For the winner it’s difficult to be back where he reached the top and the loser has time to assimilate the defeat and to create a certain spirit,.”